Terms of endearment. Only certain people can get away with these with strangers. Think about the cashier at your local grocery store. Customer service when you called in for help. This is one thing that’s guaranteed to make me feel welcome, my defensive walls come down, and pretty much automatically I’m in the best mood. But not everyone can use these. Think about a mechanic. Your boss. The young female teller at the bank.
In my experience, the people using these terms (honey, baby, sweetie, darlin’, etc) are older women and they’re either black or white. Every time it happens I think, gosh these women are awesome!
There’s a rare group that can actually do something even more amazing. The double terms of endearment. This has happened to me a handful of times and it goes something like this…
Me: Thanks for your help.
Person: Alright, honey. Here you go, baby.
It’s as joyful as seeing a double rainbow, a unicorn, or inserting your USB correctly on first try. Guys can’t really do this and not be considered a little creepy. But maybe the older the gentleman is, the more likely it is that it wouldn’t be totally uncomfortable (if he were saying it to a woman in a respectful way) There’s only one exception I can think of. Prince. In his song, “I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man,” he doubles up right after the second verse. See if you catch it and in the meantime, enjoy one of Prince’s best songs.
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 